application time!

[babbyz]

appalachian trail

Hey yall' when is the best time to start the appalachian trail?
i heard Dec, Jan from someone. But i wanted to ask you kids.
thanks.

 

[Poe Boy]

I thought he was looking for a job. . .

 

[drunken marauder]

I should be nice and not say what I was thinking.....

 

[drunken marauder]

Lol excatly thats why I didnt say anything but goggle is an awsome spell check wooohoo


edit:: as I spell a bunch of shit wrong this coffee is like crack...

 

[babbyz]

god damnit thats what i get for using google to spell check my SHIT.
i was like "applicaratoin trail" in google, and i was tired too alright. so im sorry!!! fuck.

appalachian trail!

 

[dirty_rotten_squatter]

Well, where would you start thats an important factor it goes through a handful of states. going north or south?
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.mqLTIYOwGlF/b.4805569/k.F6/When_Should_I_Start.htm
heres a helpful site for you.

 

[babbyz]

im going from GA to MI (georgia - maine)

 

[Poe Boy]

Try to figure out what kind of mileage you can make per day, and figure out the total mileage you are going.
Personally, I'd start in winter if you're going from GA, simply because ending up in Maine in winter would suck, as would starting in GA in the summer heat.

Depending on the mileage you make, you may need to start as early as October or November.

 

[macks]

I'm wanting to do a couple ten day-ish sections of this trail in the Fall, so maybe I'll just add my questions on here.

I'm thinking of hopping trains across Canada and starting at a section as far north as the weather will let us in early October, spending some time in NY and DC then doing a southern section as far south as the weather will let us in later October or early November.

Where do people with experience suggest going on and off the trail for this time frame? One of my main reasons for doing this as well is to watch the leaves change so if anyone has any suggestions for a good section/time to do that I'm all ears. Camping in light snow would be fine, but I wouldn't want to camp or hike in lots of snow or ice.

Sorry for contributing more questions and no answers!

 

[Beyond The Sun]

The link that dirty_rotten_squatter posted has some good general suggestions for figuring out where and when to start. I've never thru-hiked it, but from the many thru-hikers that I've met, sometime between March and April seems to be around when the majority of people start their thru-hike down in Georgia. With those people they usually are planning to reach Katahdin around Septemberish. With that said I've also met a few people who've started from Springer in February. You can start any time you damn please, you just need to make sure you're prepared.

macks: I would probably steer clear of Northern New England in mid-October (Maine, New Hampshire, and the northern part of the trail in Vermont). The weather up in the White Mountains is pretty extreme all year round, and is starting to shift towards winter at that point, and I think they close Baxter State Park early to mid October.
With that said, I think you'd be fine hiking pretty much anywhere south of those states. The days are cool, dry and comfortable, the nights are cool, and the leaves are turning (at least in the Mass/CT area). Bugs won't be as bad either.
I guess take all this with a grain of salt, I've never thru-hiked, but I'm basing all of this off of people I've met who have/are in the process. Just check out the site that dirty_rotten_squatter posted, appalachiantrail.org for info. You can also check out whiteblaze.net and trailjournals.com. Poke around those sites for a while and you should probably have sufficient info.

 

[Dameon]

I know that Stove is big on through-hiking. I've always wanted to do it, but it seems to be mostly something you need money to do (mail-drops for yourself and such), so I've never really been able to approach it seriously. Not to mention that the gear requirements seem pretty intense; you want durable, hi-tech gear that weighs little and gives a lot, which is generally pretty expensive. Of course, there was a lady that walked across the country (east to west) on a dare wearing the skirts and crappy clothes women were required to wear way back when, so a lot of it can come down to willpower, ingenuity, and strength.

Really, there's forums that can answer this sort of question much more effectively than a bunch of squatters and train hoppers that don't typically do through-hiking.

Take a look at: Frequently Asked Questions: Thru-Hiking - Appalachian Trail Conservancy

It pretty much gives you the exact answer to your question there.